Eclipse Day in Edinboro, PA

The sun in eclipse.

This I expect was my last opportunity to see a total eclipse of the sun in my lifetime. The next one to hit the contiguous states of the United States is not calendared until 2025, when I will be 85. Perhaps I make it. But, even if I do, it's less likely that I would be interested in traveling to see it. So this was my chance. Even though it was eclipsing nowhere near Las Vegas.

Pretty much the entire contiguous lower 48 states were going to see at least a partial eclipse. Some more partial than others. Las Vegas was a minor amount of partial. So if the Total Eclipse of the Sun will not come to me, I will come to it. Besides, it was time for my annual trek to Pennsylvania and the band of totality was not far from my sister's house.

We chose to spend the 2024 Total Eclipse of the Sun at the eclipse watch party in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, on the campus of the local college, and well within the band of totality and not a far drive (well, the drive THERE -- the drive back was a whole different story).

They had food trucks and restrooms. What more do you need from an eclipse watching party. (Other than eclipse-watching protective eyewear. Which they were giving out in the rest stops on I-79. Which we did not need because we were prepared with the upscale plastic ones and not the cheap cardboard ones that look like 1950 3-D movie watching glasses).

More importantly, they had skies that by the time of the Big Event were sufficiently clear enough to afford a great view of the eclipsing sun.

I've seen excellent professional photos with the light being set by someone who know what they are doing and the eclipse is very distinct.  I am not that photographer.  This is what you get.

The actual moments of totality were spectacular. I was surprised that it never got completely dark. O was expecting midnight. It was more like deep into dusk. And we could not hear birds chirping to hear if they stopped chirping. But it was spectacular nevertheless. The light was weird. (I heard a professional photographer on the news says it's because the light takes on a greenish hue as the moment of totality gets closer.) It did get colder. The winds did pick up.

What surprised me the most is that I could not see the corona explode into view through my eclipse-viewing glasses. The corona is apparently less bright than the ball of the sun. I saw the sun completely disappear through the eclipse. Then I saw black. I thought I lost the sun from my view. Then I heard the crowd erupt. You could watch the totality with the naked eye. In fact, that was my only choice. So I did. I did not stare. Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun / But mama, that's where the fun is.

It didn't look like a black disc with fire around it, as I expected and as it looks on TV. But it was a pale yellow disc, a more pastel color than the sun normally would be, that you could look at, surrounded by a ring of yellow fire. Now I know why some people are fanatical about chasing total eclipses of the sun.

Flight 93 National Memorial

Flight 93 National Memorial Visitors Center, as seen from the walkway to the impact site

Monday was a day to play Pennsylvania tourist.  Off we headed to the Flight 93 National Memorial near Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

This is the second time I have visited the crash site for United Flight 93, the fourth of the hijacked planes on 9-11.  The first time would have been a few months or so after 9-11, when the makeshift "memorial" looked like this:

Now, it's a large, tasteful, respectful memorial complex.  And it is a war memorial, as the battle of United 93 was the first skirmish in the War on Terror.  

The black walkway marks the flight path of United Flight 93 as it traversed a reclaimed strip mine near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The Visitors Center houses exhibits about 9-11 in general and Flight 93 in particular.

This is the education center building (and plumbed bathrooms, note importantly) of the Visitor Center complex.

When you walk into the Visitor Center complex, you can walk along the flight path to the viewpoint of the impact site.

And, from here, view the impact site.

At a distance:

But you also can walk down closer to the impact center along a 0.7 mile trail for a closer look.

What you see first is the Wall of Names:

And some of the names of those who died on Flight 93 are very memorable even 17 years after the fact:

And:

And:

Again, the black walkway marked the flight path.  The Visitor Center is visible on the hill behind the Wall of Names:

And forward to the actual impact site.

Through the gate you can see the 17-ton boulder that marks the actual spot where the nose of Flight 93 hit the loose soil of this reclaimed strip mine.

Because the remains of those who were on board are somewhere in the field ahead, the area beyond this point is not accessible to the general public.  This is every bit a battlefield as Gettysburg.

People still leave mementos behind:

This is the view of the Visitors Center from the "Visitors Shelter" area of the Memorial Plaza.

Pictures of the deceased:

The flight path over the northeastern United States.

After walking around the site, it was time to enjoy the air-conditioned comfort of the Visitors Center:

Finally, a look at the "Tower of Voices."

It is still under construction and set to open on 9-11, 2018.  It's been 17 years and the wound is still too open for me to have engaged in my usual vacation irreverence as I tour this national memorial.